Levi keieg



(No Model.)

L. KRIEG.

GARPET STRBTGHBR.

No. 325.345. Patented Sept l, 1885l UNITED STATES `PaTnNT @Trina LEVIKRIEG, OF FRANKFURT, INDIANA.

CARPET-STRETCHER.

SPECIFICATION forming Ypart of Letters Patent No. 325,345, datedSeptember 1, 1885.

Appliration filed May 1G, 1885. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern,.-

Beit known that I, Lnvr KRIEG, a citizen of the United States, residingat Frankfort, in the county of Clinton and State of Indiana, haveinvented certain new and useful Iniprovements in Carpet-Stretchers; andI de hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the saine, reference being had to the annexed drawing,making a part of this specification, and to the letters and figures ofreference marked thereon.

The present invention has relation to that class ofcarpet-stretchersconsisting of a board, cross-head, or other like device having upon itsunder side claws to enter the carpet, which is stretched by means ofawindlass over which is wound a cord connected to the door by a hookattached thereto, the windlass being provided with ratchet-wheels withwhich engage pawls, and is operated by a pivoted lever having its endbifurcated and adapted to engage with the ratchets to turn the windlass.

The object of the present invention is to improve the above-mentionedclass of carpetstretchers and simplify their operation; and it consist-sin forming the side arnis of the bifurcation ofthe lever with elongatedslots,th rough which the axle ol' the ratchet-wheel passes, so that thelever can be raised in a true vertical line to disengage the dog in thebifurcation of the lever with the ratchet-teeth, also rendering thespring-paal adjustable to regulate its pressure upon the ratchet-wheel,as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing, -which represents a perspective view of niyin vention partlyin broken section, A represents the bar, of anysuitablelength, having at its outer end the cross-head B, provided-uponits under side with spurs a.

To the opposite end of the bar A are two short standards, Z1, betweenwhich is mounted upon a stationary shaft, c, a ratchet-wheel, C, havingaround its periphery a central groove, d, for a cord or chain, e, oneend thereof being attached to the wheel and the opposite end to a hookedrod, D, which passes through guides f in the bar and cross-head.

A lever, E, has a bifurcation at its lower end which straddles theratchet-wheel C, the side arxns, g, of said bifurcation having clongatedslots h, through which the axle c passes. The lever Ebetween the sidearms, g, has a dog, 1?, to engage with the teeth of the wheel G, andback of said wheel isa spring-pawl, F, longitudinally adjustable on thebar A by thumb-screw k, which passes through an elongated slot, Z, intothe bar. The end of the pawl F, as willbe noticed, is notched, as siownat m, to allow the cord, wire, or chain e to freely pass around thegroove in the Wheel C without catching on the end of the pawl. Theadjustability ot' the pawl F is to allow it being brought with greateror less pressure against the ratchet-teeth, or to bring it out ofoperative position.

In stretching the carpet theleverEis forced down until the dog t' willreadily engage with the teeth on the wheel C, after which the n heel canbe turned by the lever. The hook in the end of the rod D is driven inthe floor, which acts as a fulcrum, and by turning the wheclin theproper direction the head B is forced forward with the carpet.

Then it is desired to disengage the dog i with the teeth in the wheel C,the lever is raised the extent. of theslots h. Thus the head B is freeto be nioved forward to again take hold of the carpet.

The slotted side arms, y, oik the lever E are of importance, as theyallow the said lever to be raised vertieall y to disengage the dog t'with the ratchet-teeth, and by a downward pressure again made to engagetherewith, the slight vertical movement being all that is required ofthelever to bring it in or out of operative position. The adjustability ofthe springpawl F is essential, as the pressure on the ratchet teeth isregulated to adapt the device in stretching carpets of different weightsand thickness, where a greater or less leverage power is required.

Any suitable means may be employed for connecting the rod D with thewheel C-sueh as a rope, oord, chain, or wire-and any suitable materialmay be used from which to construct the several parts of the stretcher.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is-

In a carpet-stretcher, a grooved ratchetwheel, a bifurcated lever havingits side arms ICO formed with elongated slots, and o dog formed Intestimony that I claim the above I have in the bifurcation to engagewith the ratohethereunto subscribed my name in the presence Io Wheel,the axle thereof extending through the of two witnesses. slots andsupported by standards, in combination with an adjustable spring-pznwl,a cord and hook7 and a bar and oross-head provided with spurs,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

LEVI KRIEG.

Witnesses:

JOHN Q. BAYLESS, WM. R. KELLEY.

